SHE may no longer be with the Beachport community, but Cynthia Beare will be honoured forever in the books that line the shelves of her Little Free Library.
Cynthia – who is remembered as a “remarkable, kind and happy woman”- died almost a year ago on January 29 after losing her battle to pancreatic cancer.
Before she died Cynthia proposed a final wish to her partner Chris Hortop and that wish has been fulfilled, bringing much joy to locals and tourists alike.
The Beachport resident wanted a Little Free Library to be established in the coastal town, creating a meeting place where people could borrow, donate or exchange books.
Mr Hortop used Cynthia’s bright red phone box as the library and placed it outside the Beachport Cinema where it now houses a collection of books suitable for people of all ages.
“Cynthia was always reading that was just her,” Mr Hortop said.
“She used to buy books and at the end of her street in Adelaide was a tram stop.
“Everytime she went on the tram she would leave a book on the seat when no one was watching with a sticky note on the front that read ‘I’m a free book, take me, read me and share me.’
“She wanted to share her love of books and thought Beachport needed a free library because she loved this town and the people in the town loved her too.
“Cynthia was the sort of person you could not help but love.”
The phonebox- which has been given a new lease of life serving as the library – was originally brought by Cynthia in an auction “many years ago” while she worked near Mannum, South Australia.
Mr Hortop recalls a paddock full of phoneboxes coming up for sale and Cynthia placing a bid for $28 on what she thought was just one.
“About 12 months down the track she was told to come and get her phonebox – she did not realise there were 50 of them,” he said.
“She had brought all of them for $28, but she only wanted the one so she left the rest.
“The phonebox travelled around with her to several homes that she owned and she always kept her CDs, records and record players in it.”
Mr Hortop met Cynthia over a decade ago and fell in love with her caring, kind-hearted and happy nature.
Cynthia worked in Adelaide and managed adoptions for South Australia for a number of years.
She loved everyone, but she particularly loved children and she adopted two of her own – a daughter and son.
Mr Hortop said Cynthia lived with him in Beachport some of the time, however she had family in Adelaide she was connected to as well.
“She spent as much time in Beachport as she could,” he said.
“She did not mind travelling in her little red ute, we actually travelled around a fair bit.
“When she knew she was getting sick she sold her ute, brought a camper van and she was living the dream.
“She had a sticker on the back of the van that said exactly that and one on the front that said ‘the grand mother ship’.
“It started as ‘the mother ship’ and then her daughter fell pregnant and had a beautiful little girl so that’s when it changed.”
Cynthia loved dressing up and is fondly remembered in the Beachport community as the rabbit who would hand out chocolate eggs on the Easter weekend market day, as well as the duck at the town’s annual duck race.
On Sundays she would sit in the Rotunda with a women’s knitting group, which Mr Hortop believes Cynthia used as an excuse to “drink cups of tea, talk and make cakes”.
He said the community response so far to the public tribute had been “overwhelming” with already a 75pc turnover in the original books he had placed in the library.
“People are great and overall the response has been really positive,” he said.
“It is for everyone, it does not matter where you are from and it is not just for Beachport people because that is the lady Cynthia was.
“She was a remarkable woman, she loved helping people out and having fun and she believed in being kind to everyone.
He added that as an avid reader Cynthia would be “absolutely delighted” if she could see her free library.
“I was sitting in the corner starting the book I had pulled out,” he said.
“I just like to think that if she was here she would sit in the corner quietly reading or knitting and enjoying the fact that people are using it.
“It is exactly what she wanted.”
